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Staying fit and healthy is not an overnight task. It is a lifelong commitment. Exercising and eating right are two peas in a pod. A good exercise regime has to be backed by a good eating routine and vice versa. In today’s changing lifestyles and fast-paced lives, we often relegate health to the bottom of our need’s pyramid only to pay heed when the body reminds us, not so subtly, of lack of nutrition and healthy routine.

The most important ingredient for healthy living is eating right and consuming a nutritious diet. Inadequate intake of nutrients can cause various health issues like stringing aches in various parts of the body, fatigue, weak bones, poor concentration, etc. Most of the people think consuming nutritious diet comprises of going on a strict diet and ditching their favourite foods forever. But, that’s not the case. With so much of information available on the internet, one is bound to get confused.

Here are some of the most commonly asked nutrition questions that beginners often have:

I am new, where should I begin?

The question that muddles every beginner is where they should begin from when it comes to eating right. The first and foremost thing to do is to understand your body’s nutrition need. Each body has a different requirement depending upon their physical work, weight, height, age, and gender. As they say, an excess of everything is harmful. Any nutrient in excess can lead to harmful consequences. One needs to understand the right quantity of nutrients to be consumed for their body type. Don’t blindly follow something that a friend or acquaintance of yours is following. No two bodies work in a similar pattern. Something that worked for you might not work for a friend of yours. Always take guidance from a certified nutritionist before adding or cutting down anything in your diet.

Which diet should I follow?

Following a diet doesn’t mean starving yourself. Starving is the worst thing one can do to their body. A healthy diet comprises of foods that take care of the essential nutrients and minerals required by your body. There are various diets like Keto, Low Carb Diet (LCD), No Carb Diet (NCD), No Sugar Diet (NSD), Low Sugar Diet (LSD), Liquid diets etc. Choose a diet depending on your body and fitness goals. For example: If a person with low blood pressure opts for a NSD i.e. no sugar diet, she is bound to suffer fatigue and dizziness. Hence, it is essential to understand your body before trying out any diet. Consult your physician or a nutritionist before starting a diet.

How effective is high protein diet?

A high protein diet should be backed by a heavy and rigorous workout regime. Proteins take time to break down and digest. A heavy workout helps in faster ingestion of proteins in the body. If a person is not working out and consuming high protein diet, he is bound to feel lethargic as body’s maximum energy will be consumed in digesting the protein intake.

Should I opt for the no carbs diet?

Every nutrient is essential for a fit and sound functioning of the body. Completely eliminating any nutrient from the body is not advisable. Carbs are the main source of energy for your body. Moreover, following a no carb diet gets a little tough to keep up with. Completely eliminating carbs from your diet is a herculean challenge. A no carb diet will leave you drained out than usual. Don’t go for it unless it is specifically advised by your nutritionist.

How important is it to keep calories count?

Counting calories can be confusing in the beginning with various food items/dishes cooked and prepared in different styles. It is difficult to give a universal calorie count for any particular dish. On the other hand, when consuming fruits and nuts, you have a definite calorie count. If you are overweight to obese and looking forward to cutting down some weight, keeping a check on your calorie intake can be helpful. By counting calories, one is able to strike a balance between the calories consumed and calories burnt ratio thereby initiating faster and healthier weight reduction process. You can take help of some smartphone apps for this.

What is nutrient timing?

Nutrient timing is all about what you are eating and when you are eating. Every nutrient has a different absorption period and until and unless you allow your body the time to absorb the consumed nutrients, it’s futile. You will only end up adding calories by not paying attention to the nutrient timing. One must be aware of the foods to eat before, during and post a workout. For example – Consuming proteins prior to workout helps in initiating faster and proper digestion since proteins take longer to digest and the rigorous body activity helps in speeding up the process.

How many meals a day should I eat?

More than the number of meals, the proportion of your meal matters. Eating small portions is the best practice to follow. Longer periods between meals make you feel hungrier and by the time you start eating, you end up binging and putting much more than what your body requires. This meddles with your metabolism leading to slower digestion process and bloating of the stomach. It is healthy to have 5-7 small meals in a day. By meals, we don’t mean full meals. Create a proper balance between your nutrients intake by adding a different kind of food products in your five meals of the day.

What should a healthy diet comprise of?

A healthy diet doesn’t mean completely cutting down on carbs and fats. There are good and bad fats. Before cutting down or adding anything in your diet, it is essential to gain knowledge about how the nutrition cycle works. For example – Cheese and ghee fall under good fats and are required by the body. But, it is important to know what quantity one is supposed to consume. Anything beyond the required quantity is going to create trouble for the body.

Again, when it comes to nutrition, there is no one-size-fits-all. Eating right is a lifestyle and one must adapt to it to stay healthy. Gain knowledge, talk to experts, and you will be able to make the right eating choices without necessarily cutting down on anything.

We, Indians, love our food more than anything else in this world. Any occasion or celebration is incomplete without a huge spread of sumptuous and delicious food. And why shouldn’t it be? With a food culture as diverse as our country, there’s never a lack of options. But, do you know how the food combinations affect your digestive system and overall gastronomic health?

The changing trends in health and nutrition with humungous emphasis on healthy living and eating right, it is essential to know about the pros and cons of our food / food habits.

You would be shocked to see the most common food combinations making to our list of 15 food combinations that you should avoid at all cost.

Consuming Fruits Just After a Meal

Many Indians still abide by the old saying – ‘Khaali pet jal, bhar pet phal’ which is the biggest mistake that we commit as per the nutritionists. Fruits are quick and easy to digest. However, combining them with food slows down the digestion process. Moreover, when fruits are consumed with a food item or immediately after a meal, it stays in the stomach for longer making it ferment and act like sugar. Fruits are best consumed alone either 20-30 minutes before a meal or an hour post a meal.

Eating Cheese and Meat Omelette

Combining two sources of protein in one meal can create havoc on your digestive system. Proteins are hard to digest and consume a lot of energy. Mixing two sources of high proteins can drain you out while being tough on your digestive tract as well.

Eating Cheese Sandwich with Coffee

The carbs in your bread creates a hurdle in consumption of calcium present in the cheese. A cheese sandwich only adds to your calorie count without adding any nutritious value to your body. Coffee further aggravates the issue of breaking down fats present in cheese.

Drinking Juices / Water / Any kind of Liquids with Food

Fancy a glass of orange juice with your breakfast or can’t push down the food without a glass of water? You should stop doing that right away. Consuming juices or any kind of liquids with meals dilutes enzymes in your stomach which slows down the process of breaking down and digesting proteins, carbohydrates and fats. It is recommended to drink water 10-15 minutes before a meal and to wait for at least 40 minutes after meals.

Munching Salted Nuts with Alcoholic Beverages

Munching salty nuts and mixtures while drinking alcoholic drinks is a very common practice. Consumption of alcohol initiates dehydration of the body. Consuming high-salt foods is anyway harmful for the body and when combined with alcohol it further adds to dehydration of the body.

Consuming Carbs with Meat / Animal Protein

Love your butter chicken and naan combo? Do we see you drooling already? Sorry to break this to you but you should never combine animal protein with carbohydrates. The different digestive juices produced when animal protein and carbs are consumed will nullify the effect of both thereby causing gastric reactions. The heaviness that you feel afterwards is the result of mixing these two.

Consuming Salad with Meals

Mixing cooked and uncooked can be harsh on the digestive system. The digestion time and digestive juices required to digest cooked and raw foods are different. Mixing these two puts pressure on the digestive system. Moreover, salads are filling and a complete meal themselves.

Consuming Fruits with Flavoured Yogurt

The bacteria present in yogurt acts with the sugar in fruits. The combination results in toxins and you end up suffering from cold and other allergies. If you can’t give up on this combination, then it is advisable to replace your flavoured yogurt with the plain one and top it with either honey or raisins.

This combination is native to the Mexican cuisine. Beans are believed to induce gas, but the truth is that beans alone aren’t as harmful as combined with cheese. This combination is a sure shot resultant of bloating and gas. If you have a weak digestive system, you should avoid this.

Consuming Milk with Any Food and Fruit

Combining milk with any other food item like coconut, walnut, vegetables, and fruits cause disturbances of digestive enzymes resulting in acidic reactions. Milk is best consumed alone without any accompaniment.

Consuming Carbonated drinks with Food

Are you in the habit of guzzling down a glass of cola with your pizza or post a heavy meal? This is the worst thing you can do to your body. The high content of sugar mixes along with the sugar you consume in your food. This takes days to break down and digest thereby causing your body to consume a high amount of fats resulting in weight gain.

Mixing Milk with Tea

India runs on chai and we love our cup of tea too much to give it up for anything. But, hey, consuming more than 2 cups of tea with milk can prove to be fatally acidic. It causes burning of the digestive tract. Tea is healthy and beneficial when consumed without milk.

Consuming Chapati and Rice in one Meal

Combining two different types of grains in the same meal exerts pressure on your digestive system. The digestion requirement for these two is different and hence, when consumed together, it can result in constipation and gas.

Consuming Cooked Ghee and Honey

Both ghee and honey are best when consumed raw. Heating them destroys the nutritious value and depletes them to nothing but a fatty food product. Ghee and honey in equal weight can be a poisonous mixture. Ghee is a cooling agent and honey’s a heating agent. The resultant mixture of these two opposite agents is poisonous.

The best thing to happen in cosmetology is hair dye. The concept has evolved over the years from the basic henna to a variety of colours available in the market these days. You have a red, a yellow, a green, a blue et al. You name the colour and voila! The range of colours provides you with a chance and scope to play with your looks. The colour and cut of the hair enhance your look, and, hence, it is essential to choose your hair colour wisely just like your haircut. There are many dos and don’ts for picking a perfect haircut, but people seldom pay little heed to the type of colour they should choose.

Things to Know Before Colouring Your Hair

It is recommended to follow a pre hair colouring regime before exposing your hair to such harsh chemicals to ensure that the texture and health of your hair remains intact. More often than not, people neglect the pre colouring hair care. The major focus of people and stylists is usually on the post colour hair care. Make sure to keep your hair healthy before colouring because it can cause severe damage to already damaged hair.

Massage your scalp with hot oil at least a couple of days before colouring your hair

Avoid washing your hair just before colouring them. Wash your hair a day before doing so

Use a mild or sulphate free shampoo to cleanse your scalp

Don’t use conditioner before colouring your hair

Get rid of your split ends

If colouring at home, do a patch test on a very small section of your hair before applying it all over

Choosing the Stylist

If you are a first timer, pay special attention to choosing your stylist. A good stylist can do wonders to your look. Always choose a professional stylist for colouring your hair. The techniques of hair colouring are complex and not every stylist is well aware of those. Book a pre colouring consulting with the stylist, look at her previous works, discuss with her what you want and see if she is able to understand your requirements or not. Consult friends or acquaintances that have coloured their hair. Their recommendations can come handy when you are confused about finalizing a stylist for yourself.

8 Things to Know Before Colouring Your Hair

Here are a few things to keep in mind before colouring your hair:

Get a Picture for Reference

Loved a look that you came across while surfing the internet or TV channels? Make sure to click a picture of the same to show to your stylist. Tell them what exactly you are looking forward to and it will help them in producing accurate results thereby eliminating any chances of disappointment.

Communicate with the Stylist

As mentioned earlier, it is essential to talk to your stylist and convey her about what are you expecting out of her and the hair colour. It becomes easier for the stylist to work when she knows what exactly you are looking forward to.

Choose a Hair Colour that Reflects Your Personality

We understand that you want to experiment with your looks but whilst you are at it, try and restrict yourself to a colour that will enhance your look and compliment your personality. Just because the blue colour in trending does not mean that it will look great on you too.

Set Realistic Expectations

Many times people walk in the salon with images off the internet that are photoshopped and impractical. Understand this aspect and set realistic expectations for yourself as well as your stylist. If your stylist tells you that she can’t replicate what you want her to then trust her on that.

Choosing Colouring Style

There are many variations and styles in which you can colour your hair. You can opt for highlights, streaks, single colour global, double colour global, highlighting tips etc. Depending upon your lifestyle and needs, choose the colour and style. If you are colouring to cover greys, then global is a good option. If you don’t have many grey strands, you can conceal them with streaks or highlights too.

If You Are Re-colouring

If you are a repeated user, it is important for you to choose your colour wisely. Repeated use of such harsh chemicals can ruin the health and texture of your hair. Opt for natural or milder hair colours over vibrant and fashion colours. The shades of natural tones are milder on the hair compared to the vibrant colours.

Colouring Your Virgin Hair

Let your stylist know if you are colouring your hair for the first time. Some people’s skin can be reactive to chemicals in hair colour. Ask the stylist to conduct a patch test at the back of your crown. Colouring virgin hair can be fun. Since they haven’t been exposed to chemicals yet, you can opt for any kind of colour that you wish for.

Post Colouring Hair Care and Maintenance

Post colouring hair maintenance and care is a long-term commitment. People often leave it midway. But, it is important to understand that your hair require nourishment and care. Use hair products that your stylist recommends. Before switching or changing your hair care products, talk to your stylist about it.

Keep these simple hair colouring tips in mind the next time you decide to change your look and you’ll be ready for that perfect Instagram pic!

Technology has impacted every walk of our lives. The last few years have seen revolutionary technological advancements. From landline telephones to smartphones, from feature phones to iPhones, from slow internet connections to today’s 4G connections, technology has phenomenally transformed our lives. The way we read news on mobile, interact with friends and family members through social networking sites, do online shopping – technology has changed the way we live our lives.

Similar to other industries, the healthcare industry also is seeing rapid changes owing to the innovations in medical devices and software. Digital technologies are changing the way care is administered to patients and also the way healthcare organisations function. While there is a growth in the adoption of healthcare technologies by health providers, there is also displeasure amongst the doctors about the available healthcare technologies. It is not that doctors are not used to using latest technologies – they are the ones who have been using the latest technologies since a long time – right from MRI machines, X-Ray machines, or the various hospital instruments, they are well versed with the use of technology. Then what is wrong with today’s healthcare IT solutions?

Research shows that hospital staff spends on an average 5 hours a day entering patients’ data into electronic health records (EHRs). Hospitals are needing to hire more staff for conducting data work. A large chunk of the hospital income is being spent on keeping up with technological advancements and maintaining a task force for it. This is a completely counter-intuitive scenario. When the technology is supposed to reduce time and efforts and enhance the patient care, what is making it not deliver on its promise?

Here is our take why doctors could be hating the healthcare IT solutions available to them –

Mobility

Most of the times, doctors are on the move. From hospitals rounds, OPDs, to moving from one clinic to the other – they are hardly at their desk. The biggest drawback of many of the available healthcare IT solutions is their stationary nature. The doctors are required to input data regarding their patients after returning to their desks. With so many patients in the hospital and with an equal number of them visiting daily in the OPD, it becomes tasking to remember, recollect and retain the accurate information for each of the patients. Doctors need a solution which can allow them to access patient information anytime, anywhere, right from their mobile devices.

Non-Intuitive Interface

Some of the most crucial duties of doctors include attending to emergencies, looking after inpatients, medical floors, and attending intensive care units. What doctors need a solution which can provide them quick and easy access to patient data, reduce the costs of operations, reduce human errors and help in reliable prescriptions.

Doctors need a system which can allow them to enter data with a few clicks or drag and drop. They need a system which is extremely easy to use, works on their mobile phones or tablets, is designed “for doctors”. In many cases, the health IT solutions do not consider the working patterns of the doctors and are designed in a very complex fashion.

Non-Integrated Systems

Hospitals and clinics generate a humongous amount of data – patient records, inventory records, data from medical stores and labs, and so on. While technology has entered hospitals and some records are being maintained through computers instead of paper records, all the systems still work in silos. There is no integration of this information. This further adds to the woes of the doctors and the medical staff working in the hospitals and clinics. A major chunk of their medical time is invested in maintaining, finding, or sorting the data. Having a solution which integrates various aspects of the healthcare ecosystem will immensely help the medical fraternity as it can give them quick access to all the required information.

Complex Workflows

Each hospital and clinic follows specific workflows. Just because they are adopting a particular technology does not mean that the hospitals will change their workflows. The health IT solution should be flexible and adaptable to the hospital’s specific workflows. It needs to allow the creation of custom workflows. Since no two doctors think alike, each doctor follows a specific style of working, a specific pattern, and processes the information in a particular way. When the IT systems force all the doctors to follow the same pattern, the doctors don’t appreciate it and it makes them unproductive.

Hard to Manage

The doctors or the staff at the healthcare organisation are not necessarily equipped to handle complex hardware and software. Handling software failures or hardware updates is a daunting task for them. Hospitals also do not want to build and manage their own IT teams to maintain and upgrade their IT systems. They need solutions which can be accessed via the web, do not require any efforts on their part to upgrade or maintain, and do not need any capital investment in hardware or software. That’s where the latest cloud-based solutions are gaining popularity amongst the doctors and hospitals.

Time is of the essence for doctors, and they need to take very crucial decisions within a very short time. We, at Mars Plus believe that technology should aid the doctors in their decision-making, reduce their time and efforts, help them spend more time with their patients, reduce their costs and overheads, and improve the overall patient care. With that in mind, we have designed a very user-friendly and fully-integrated healthcare ecosystem – check it out at www.marspls.com.

Bariatric surgery, also known as weight loss surgery, is a procedure through which obese people lose weight by reducing the stomach size with the help of a gastric band or by removing a portion of the stomach or by re-routing small intestines to a small stomach pouch.

Owing to the fad of being small-sized, people feel bariatric surgery is done only to lose weight. However, that’s not the case. It also helps in recovering from Type II diabetes and minimizing cardiovascular risks thereby reducing the mortality rate. As per the U.S National Institutes of Health, bariatric surgery should be performed for obese people with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of at last 40. But recent researches suggest that bariatric surgery can be performed on any patient whose BMI is higher than 30.

Bariatric Surgery Procedure

There are three procedures through which bariatric surgery is performed namely:

Predominantly Malabsorptive Procedures: The success rate of this procedure is derived from creating a physiological condition of malabsorption.

Predominantly Restrictive Procedures: As the name suggests, this procedure is based upon restrictive measures like reducing oral intake by limiting gastric volume. The risk of metabolic complications is reduced with this procedure.

Mixed Procedures: In this, malabsorptive and restrictive procedures are combined.

Following are the bariatric surgery procedures commonly performed in India:

Gastric Bypass Surgery

In this procedure, the stomach is divided into two pouches. The upper one is made into a small sized pouch and the remaining part becomes the larger pouch. The upper part of the stomach is separated from rest of the stomach by stapling and the small intestines are rearranged to allow connection of both sections of the stomach. This results in lesser food intake.

Lap-Band Surgery

This procedure is also known as Adjustable Gastric Band. In this procedure, the smaller pouch is created placing a silicon rubber on top of the stomach. It is performed laparoscopically. Lap-Band surgery is touted to be the safest procedure of bariatric surgery.

Gastric Sleeve Procedure

Also known as Sleeve Gastrectomy, in this process, a significant portion of the stomach is reduced by creating a major curve. This is a permanent/irreversible process unlike Lap-Band or Gastric Bypass. This process is also performed laparoscopically and is generally recommended for highly obese people.

Postoperative Rehabilitation

After undergoing bariatric surgery patients are put on a clear liquid diet for a couple of days after which they are shifted to a liquid diet for two weeks. The patient follows this diet until the recovery of gastrointestinal tract. After complete recovery, the patient can shift to normal diet but since the intake of food reduces due to the reduction in the size of the stomach, doctors prescribe a diet rich in proteins and lower fats.

While bariatric surgery is not a magic bullet for weight loss, by following the right diet and lifestyle, most of the patients are able to maintain their weight after the surgery without any issues.

Need vs. Fad

The obsession of losing weight and reducing size has made bariatric surgery a fad. The body undergoes major altercations after undergoing the surgery. The post-surgery life isn’t as easy or simple to lead on. There are permanent dietary changes that the patient has to adhere to. If you fail to do so, the consequences can be serious. The surgery isn’t a permanent solution to weight issues. People feel that once they go under the knife, they can live the rest of their lives enjoying eating and no exercising. This is a myth. One needs to have a healthy and regular exercise routine else the weight is bound to return.

Being overweight or obese has serious health issues. People should opt for bariatric surgery for medical conditions rather than aesthetics. The health issues such people face range from hypertension to cardiac arrest and diabetes.

Take into consideration the overall factors before undergoing such a drastic step until and unless your doctor has suggested you to take this route due to your health concerns. Consult a reputed bariatric surgeon to help you know the needs and effects of the surgery on your body.